Uganda is a very mesmerizing country for safaris, holidays and honeymoon trips. The country has a lot that you can enjoy visiting and exploring during your trip, among the major attractions being; endangered mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, varied wild life including the big ‘five’, hills and mountains, lakes and rivers, amazing culture, and many others.
However, there are two seasons if you’re trying to visit these attractions. The two seasons are peak/high season and the low season. The peak season is always happening during the dry months of June to late August, and then December to late February, well as the low season happens during the wet/rainy months of March to May and then September to November. Meanwhile, it is both advantageous and disadvantageous to move in a peak season, and the same applies to low season, as described below:
Advantages of visiting Uganda in a Peak Season:
The dry months are always the most popular with tourists, with July and August and then December and January being the very peak seasons. These months are more ideal to tourists because grasses are always shorter enabling clear views of wildlife in the jungle. This is also perfect when trekking mountain gorillas and chimpanzees because the forests are dry and treks are navigable.
Disadvantages of traveling in a Peak Season:
When you opt to move in a peak season, the first thing to consider is booking in advance because you may end up missing the trip as it’s really a busy season. Since it’s the most loved season by tourists, and many tourists travel during this period, you should book for your gorilla and chimpanzee permit earlier otherwise if you think you will go for last minute safaris in a peak season you are definitely looking for disappointments in turn.
The other worrying issue with traveling in peak season is that facilities are costly during this period and the Parks are also over-crowded, so if you are this tourist who prefers privacy, peak season is not better for you.
Advantages of traveling in off/low season:
The most amazing thing with traveling in low season is that you have privacy and you can get what you want anytime – including the last minute trips, since travelers/tourists are few. Facilities and accommodations also seem to be cheaper than how they be during the peak season.
Most rain falls are however in October-November and April-May but this doesn’t mean that it rains all day, nor does it mean it will rain every day. Usually there’s a tropical shower at night or a shorter shower during the day, but in Uganda you can trust that after rain comes sunshine!
The weather is no reason to avoid travelling in the off/low season – you might even consider it because of the easy availability of gorilla and chimpanzee permits plus the other facilities.
Disadvantages of traveling in off/low season:
Since rains are sometimes much in the low season, this intimidates most of the Parks’ activities like gorilla trekking, chimpanzee tracking, hiking and game drives because the roads and tracks in the parks are unnavigable. The grasses in the Parks are also tall in the low/rainy season, thus making game viewing so difficult.
Conclusion:
One remarkable aspect about Uganda safaris is: whether you travel in the dry or in the wet/off season, you will never find the crowded tourism like in Kenya or Tanzania. If you spot a lion or a Cape buffalo, or leopard, it is very likely that you will be the only one to see it – even in peak season! The other thing is that Uganda can be visited all-year-round as even sunshine is seen also in the rainy/wet season – it will rain and then stop, allowing you do the Park activities – so don’t make climate and weather a big issue when visiting Uganda as you are free to visit it at any time you feel like.